Some guy in the office has been bringing his toddler to work two or three times a week, and as we’re getting busier I am finding it damn hard to concentrate with this brat babbling and screaming in the next cubicle all day (he does nothing to control it). So I went to the top editor and, very diplomatically, said that I know he must have some sort of childcare emergemcy, but if this is going to go on much longer, could the kid be entertained in an empty office or conference room, because I am finding it harder and harder to do my work?
“That’s your problem,” she said. Huh? “You’ll just have to concentrate and learn to develop tunnel vision.” I said, “This is a place of business, not a daycare center, and my job description does not include trying to concentrate with a baby screaming in my ear,” and walked out of her office. Just watch me catch it if I miss one fucking comma in this issue because Baby Snooks is teething on my computer . . . I’m madder at her than I am at the kid and the father—her blithe dismissal of my concerns about my ability to do my job under these circumstances. I mean, she has an office and can close her door if things get too loud . . . If we weren’t so busy, I would take an “early day” today.
OK . . . I went to the Daddy’s direct supervisor, a real doll if ever there was one, and he just e’d me, “I asked him to take his son into the back room. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll speak to him on Monday and remind him that just because we’ve been through a tough week and are looking at the weekend doesn’t mean that other folks on our floor aren’t done yet, because they’re on deadline.”
Thank goodness there is ONE professional in this goddam office . . .
Eve, your boss is a dumbass (at least in this case) No one (barring day care workers or those that work at home with THEIR OWN kids) should have to put up with this.
Most of my coworkers are young and many have young kids, and every once in a while, a young 'un makes the rounds. Thankfully, it’s usually a quick visit, and they rarely come to see me anyway. I like kids just fine, but I never know what to say. “So how ya doing, Poop-machine?”
Eve, thank you for posting quickly and letting us know things should get worked out.
I got through your first post and was pissed. I’m not a real kid person anyway, so the thought of having to work with such a distraction would probably send me to the roof! Glad to know that someone’s talked to him about this.
–scout, the one they all know never to ask to hold a baby
Stay on top of this Eve. My boss let one of my coworkers bring her son to the office with her when he was born, and here we are, two years later and STILL unable to shake the lil’ tyke. Numerous complaints have been made to no avail. Thank god I work in a different office…
Jeepers cripes! That’s horrid behavior. I’d be threatening to file a complaint, but thank goodness you were able to solve the issue without a major confrontation. My hat’s off to you.
You know, there’s people who love babies and kids, and can’t get enough of them. These people would have problems concentrating on the work at hand because they’d be busy going kitchy kitchy COO at the kid. Then there’s people who do not go all mushy in the presence of children, and THESE folks would have problems because the tot is, as noted, chewing on various essential office equipment. In either case, people are distracted from working. I find Eve’s boss’s attitude most unreasonable and unrealistic.
In addition, an office is simply not a safe PLACE for a young’un. Toddlers are especially bad about poking things and putting things into their mouths. I’ve had a toddler of my own, plus I used to babysit quit a bit as a teen. The office is NOT a good place for a preschooler to run around in! Especially since Daddy is probably not keeping a close eye on the kid.
I’m sure that the firm’s lawyers would not be happy about Snookums being in the office that much, if you need extra ammo, Eve. And I’m glad that Daddy’s boss is much more reasonable than your own.
Ah, the screaming of young children… someone should explain to the dumbass supervisor that it is a noise that we are programmed to respond to… that it is one of the least likely noises you can learn to block out
Don’t forget to tape the noise, and play it loudly next time you speaking to this genius.
Two or three times a week?! How was the father getting any work done?! I’m glad you had someone reasonable to speak to, and I hope this problem really gets resolved.
Occasionally at my office we have some young mother or another bring her child around. Everyone is expected to stop and look and make the appropriate noises, and if you don’t you’re either antisocial or some kind of reptilian freak who has no normal human feeling. The problem is, I don’t, um, really like kids that aren’t biologically related to me. If they come by I will smile but I really don’t want to have to break my concentration on whatever I’m working on so I can be entertained by someone’s little darling. [sub]The adults are annoying enough.[/sub] I don’t understand why this particular time waster is allowed when others are not. I mean, I could bring my hamster in and let her run around in her ball crashing into things which would be much more amusing to me than a two-year-old doing the same, but that would be, like, unprofessional.
Don’t blame you for being mad. That’s a crappy situation to put your co-workers in and the supervisor should tell the parent that the child belongs in daycare. An occasional emergency is to be expected, but two or three times a week? That’s completely unreasonable. Even two to three times a month is unreasonable.
well, we do have a couple who brings in their dog a lot (a little Miniature Pinscher).
He’s much less annoying than kids, since he weighs about 6 pounds and spends his entire time looking for yummy things to eat on the floor (and usually is not disapointed since we only have a cleaning crew once week and all eat at our desks)
Now if the visiting kids would only clean up all the stale pretzel shards under Doug’s desk, instead of leaving wrappers from whatever candy they’ve scored wandering the cubicles, maybe I’d warm up to them a bit.
The more I hear stories like that, the more I am in favour of the Heinlein method of child-rearing : put kid in barrel, feed through bunghole, at 18, plug bunghole.
[sub]Psst, happyheathen, I’m with you on that one. Kids are SO good with a nice Béarnaise sauce… or lots of ketchup
